sunni

BAGHDAD, Feb 8 – One of Iraq’s most powerful Iranian-backed Shiite militias on Sunday warned that Arab forces sent to Syria or Iraq would “open the gates of hell”, in comments clearly aimed at Sunni Arab countries that have said they might join such an operation. “The Arab kingdoms tried Daesh mercenaries to implement their

RIYADH, Feb 7 – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Sunday called on other countries not to interfere in the kingdom’s internal affairs in what appeared to be a rebuke to Riyadh’s main foe Iran, which it accuses of attempting to stir unrest. “It is our right to defend ourselves, without interfering in the affairs of

AMMAN/BEIRUT, Jan 31 – At least 45 people were killed and 110 wounded on Sunday by a car bomb and two suicide bombers in the Sayeda Zeinab district of Damascus, where Syria’s holiest Shi’ite shrine is located, the interior ministry said. Sunni fundamentalist Daesh claimed responsibility for the attacks, according to Amaq, a news agency

TEHRAN, Jan 25 – Iran and Saudi Arabia should take every step to de-escalate the tension between them, Iran’s deputy foreign minister said on Monday. Tensions between the regional rivals escalated this month after Riyadh’s execution of a Shi’ite Muslim cleric triggered an attack by Iranian protesters on its Tehran embassy, leading the kingdom to

ISLAMABAD, Jan 18 – Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will travel to Saudi Arabia and Iran on Monday, in a bid to bridge the growing divide between the two countries after the Sunni kingdom’s execution of a Shiite cleric sparked a bitter row. Sharif will fly to Saudi Arabia on Monday before visiting Iran’s capital

Why is the death of one person stirring all this tension? BY Ibrahim Fraihat SINCE RETURNING TO HIS VILLAGE in eastern Saudi Arabia in 1999, after having spent over a decade studying, teaching and preaching abroad (namely in Iran and Syria) Sheikh Nimr Baqir Al Nimr’s fiery speeches were causing considerable frustration to the Saudi

BEIJING, Jan 11 – A Chinese envoy who visited Saudi Arabia and Iran over the past week has called for both countries to exercise calm and restraint amid an on-going feud between the two countries, in a rare diplomatic foray into the region by Beijing. Tensions between the Sunni Muslim kingdom of Saudi Arabia and

DUBAI, Jan 10 – Iran’s foreign minister has complained to the United Nations about Saudi Arabia’s “provocations” towards Tehran, as a diplomatic crisis between the region’s two major powers entered its second week. In a letter to the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon published by Iranian news agencies on Saturday, Mohammad Javad Zarif said “some people”

ABU DHABI, Jan 10 – Saudi Arabia may take further measures against Iran after cutting ties with its regional rival this week, the Saudi foreign minister said on Saturday, in a major row over the kingdom’s execution of a Shiite Muslim cleric. Adel Al Jubeir’s comments came in a press conference after an extraordinary meeting

RIYADH, Jan 7 – Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said a war between his country and Iran would be the beginning of a catastrophe and Riyadh would not allow it, the Economist reported on Thursday. “It is something that we do not foresee at all, and whoever is pushing towards that is somebody